Outstanding first-year quarterback Liam Mahoney was named rookie of the year by the Quebec University Football League at a press conference held in Lennoxville, Que. yesterday.
He is the Quebec nominee for the Peter Gorman Trophy awarded annually to the rookie of the year in CIS football. The winner will be announced at Vanier Cup festivities in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 21.
“I have never seen a rookie make so few mistakes,” says Concordia head coach gerry McGrath. “I have never had a rookie quarterback play at the level Liam has been playing at. I never have to tell him anything twice. I tell him once, he sees it and he executes it the next time. He is composed, intelligent and has a great aptitude for the game of football.”
It was a baptism by fire for Mahoney, the highly sought after all-star quarterback out of Vanier College in the Quebec CEGEP AAA league. Typically, a McGrath-coached quarterback has a couple of years to learn the phonebook-sized playbook and to get comfortable with Concordia’s complicated offence. Mahoney, 19, had about six weeks to grasp the system before he had to go out and be the Stingers’ offensive leader. Starting quarterback Rob Mackay suffered a knee injury in the fourth game of the season, forcing Mahoney into the limelight.
From there, Mahoney was unstoppable. In just over four games he completed 60.2 per cent of his passes and threw for six touchdowns. He also rushed for more than 600 yards, averaging more than eight yards a carry.
